Unlikely Stowaways: Weed Seed Travel to Faraway Places on Cars, Trucks and ATVs

When you take your four-wheel drive out for a spin this fall, you might be bringing home more than memories. Researchers at Montana State University have found that vehicles are routinely transporting invasive weed seeds. Seeds can stow away on tires, bumpers, wheel wells or the underside of a vehicle and sometimes travel great distances before falling off in a new locale. As weed seeds sprout and grow, they can crowd out native plants, disrupt native ecosystems and wildlife habitats and reduce crop yields when they spread to nearby fields.